Because it was an official meeting, Jiraiya wore his Konoha forehead protector and a green flak jacket.
Her waist-length white hair was loosely tied back, and the faint blush beneath her eyes hadn't yet reached her lips.
"Hello, Kawaze-kun."
Jiraiya flashed a bright smile. In his youth, he had been a strikingly handsome man.
He was an easygoing person—so long as Tsunade was happy, he sincerely wished her well.(If Naruto had a "top simp leaderboard," Jiraiya would absolutely rank number one…)
"Why so polite? We can get to know each other better once we spend more time together."
Tsunade led the group toward the Hatake residence.
And the reason?The food there was delicious.
"Well then, I'll excuse myself for now."
Jiraiya still wanted to find out what kind of person Kawaze really was.
After all… this man had actually won the heart of the goddess.
"Don't be like that. We'll be fighting side by side soon—getting familiar with each other is a good thing."
During the journey, Kawaze and their six-man unit gradually became closer.
Most of the conversation was between Kawaze, Tsunade, and Jiraiya.
The remaining three—Orochimaru, Sakumo, and Duy—would only chime in occasionally.
Their personalities were all vividly contrasted.
Jiraiya showered endless praise on the Hatake household's food and sake—which happened to be one of his favorite things.
During the banquet, the conversation naturally shifted toward the war.
Kawaze spoke with complete confidence. If the six of them couldn't defeat Hanzō of the Salamander, then they might as well return home and start farming.
From the drinking and conversation, Jiraiya didn't develop an exceptionally high opinion of Kawaze, but he did view him favorably.
At the very least, Kawaze was someone you could get along with.
Earlier, Orochimaru and Tsunade had seriously discussed the matter of medical ninja, but unfortunately the hospital still hadn't produced a single fully qualified one.
Once Tsunade returned from the battlefield, she would likely be overwhelmingly busy—medical ninja were scarce.
With every bottle of wine opened, the atmosphere grew warmer.
The two young boys became diligent little servers, refilling everyone's cups.
They couldn't afford to offend anyone present.
After only a glance at Namikaze Minato, Jiraiya instantly took a liking to him and vigorously ruffled his short blond hair.
"Seems you've taken in a fine student, Kawaze-kun."
Hearing this, Kawaze felt a twinge of guilt. Tsunade wasn't "poaching," but Minato definitely was.
"Haha, impossible. He's just a useless kid."
Minato didn't take the empty flattery seriously.
He already knew which things his teacher said were for his ears—and which were not.
"Nawaki, I've got something good for you."
Jiraiya called him over and pulled a glossy bikini magazine from his robes.
He gently placed it into the sacred child's hands.
"This… isn't good."
Nawaki hesitated, feeling the deadly aura burning holes into his back.
"Jiraiya!"
Tsunade roared, rushed over, and slammed her fist into Jiraiya's head.
A lump visibly formed on impact.
"It's just a magazine!"
Jiraiya rubbed his head, clearly unconvinced.
"I didn't ask for it, but Jiraiya-nii insisted on giving it to me!"
Terrified, Nawaki tossed the magazine back at him and fled without looking back.
He would rather die himself than drag a friend into danger—thus he honored that ideal by running for his life.
"This is a collector's edition… what a waste."
Jiraiya retrieved the magazine with resignation, completely ignoring Tsunade still standing beside him.
Kawaze was stunned.Just how many beatings had Jiraiya taken in his life to remain this calm?
After this little incident, Jiraiya didn't restrain himself at all—instead he drank even harder.
Tsunade had no idea how to deal with this troublesome man and could only turn away and sit down again.
She shot a murderous glare at Nawaki as well—he wasn't innocent either.
"Learning early isn't necessarily a bad thing."
Kawaze was probably tipsy and half-delirious, speaking without thinking.
Tsunade pinched his waist sharply, making him gasp and sober up a little.
Three hours later, everyone had eaten and drunk their fill. They walked like drifting walls—but Kawaze couldn't even stand.
Just as Tsunade had said, after spending time together, the group had indeed grown close.
Kawaze and Jiraiya leaned against a wall, shoulder to shoulder.
He ended up arguing with Orochimaru about whether the wall was moving.
Orochimaru, who had believed in science since childhood, simply could not accept such nonsense.
It violated his entire worldview.
Seeing the childish argument about to escalate, Naoyuki hurriedly ordered the servants to escort everyone back to their rooms.
The rest also returned to the Hatake household to sober up.
Over the next few days, they gathered frequently, and their relationships deepened rapidly.
Three days later, they learned that the daimyo's supplies had reached the Rain Country border.
That night, the expedition members packed their gear.
They assembled the next morning at Konoha's main gate.
This time, Konoha deployed a massive elite force—even Yūhi Makoto, the famous genjutsu master, was among them.
"Makoto-kun, you're here too."
Kawaze greeted him while standing beside Tsunade.
"Yes. I'm a part of Konoha as well."
Makoto smiled warmly. Whenever the village needed him, he stepped forward without hesitation.
Just like in the original history—he had charged at the Nine-Tails knowing full well it meant his death.
"It's time."
Tsunade reminded everyone that the army had fully assembled.
"Move out!"
With Tsunade's commanding shout, the vast army began marching toward the Rain Country.
Perhaps because of his previous defeat, Orochimaru kept his presence low, leaving most of the leadership tasks to Tsunade.
The vanguard consisted mainly of Kawaze and his companions—the further back in the formation, the weaker the ninja.
The two boys had to stay near the rear this time; there was no need for them to be at the front.
Scouts had already arrived in the Rain Country.
"Orochimaru-kun, what do you think is the best strategy for this battle?"
Kawaze couldn't come up with anything clever, so he asked Orochimaru directly.
Tsunade, even worse at strategy than Kawaze, perked up her ears to listen.
The others were too far to hear clearly.
"First, establish a secure camp and focus our forces on eliminating the Rain ninja. Avoid large-scale battles."
"If you encounter Hanzō, run. Once he's afraid to send troops out, there are many ways to deal with him later."
Orochimaru had learned his lesson and fully acknowledged Hanzō's terrifying lethality in open battle.
This time, they planned to use maneuver warfare—saving the final boss for the final fight.
"That's a good idea… but I don't know how Hanzō will react."
Tsunade had seen his poison firsthand and feared him deeply. She still hadn't developed an antidote.
"Then we'll follow Orochimaru-kun's plan. If the situation changes, we'll adapt."
Kawaze considered it the safest strategy to minimize Konoha casualties and fully supported it.
And if he really encountered Hanzō, he didn't mind testing whether his Sage Mode was strong enough.
"Just in case, make sure the antidote pills Tsunade prepared are distributed to everyone."
"While I can't fully neutralize the salamander poison, I can at least save your lives."
Orochimaru knew Tsunade had prepared a massive amount of antidote medicine in hopes of improving survival rates inside the toxic mist.
As for whether she herself would be killed by Rain ninja—there was nothing she could do.
It took the Konoha army half a month to reach the border of the Rain Country.
And the moment they set foot on Rain Country soil, the horn of war sounded once more.
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All the fanfiction is 30-chapter ahead but this "Naruto: Tsunade the Fugitive Healer" is 30 chapters ahead there